1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to an apparatus for carbonating a solution and in particular to an arrangement and process for supersaturating a solution with CO.sub.2 by pressurizing the reaction chamber through the generation of CO.sub.2.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Carbonated beverages are bottled under pressure so that when consumed they possess a significant level of carbonation. It is desirable to have the facility for carbonating a beverage in the home due to the expense and inconvenience of procuring bottled or canned carbonated beverages. It would be burdensome to obtain CO.sub.2 cannisters which have special control devices for operation, are heavy and must be returned to be refilled. Simply mixing chemical reagents which generate CO.sub.2 in an open vessel results in rapid evolution of CO.sub.2, leaving the solution flat to the taste.
Prior art for a home beverage carbonation system suggests a complicated system to carbonate a beverage. Rudick U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,219 for Gas Generator for a Carbonated Drink Dispenser, 1982 May 3, discloses an arrangement in which CO.sub.2 is generated in a reaction chamber requiring a pressurized container or pump to cause mixing of the reactants to occur.
Another approach releases CO.sub.2 over time by creating an equilibrium between CO.sub.2 leaving the reaction chamber and solution which enters the reaction chamber and reacts with a carbonation mixture to produce additional CO.sub.2. The reaction takes place in the vessel from which the beverage is consumed (Buchel U.S. Pat No. 4,186,215 Beverage Carbonation Arrangement, 1980 Jan. 29). In this arrangement the solution is not carbonated under pressure. One disadvantage of this arrangement is that the reaction chamber can be used only once and so entails the expense of a non-reusable reaction chamber. An additional disadvantage of another embodiment of this arrangement is that the reaction chamber may flop around in the vessel or slide out toward the opening of the vessel when it is partially inverted so that the contents may be consumed. The prospect of drinking from a glass containing a reaction chamber producing CO.sub.2 may also be less than appetizing. Hovey U.S. Pat. 3,476,520 for Chemical Addition of Gas to Liquid Solvent Apparatus, 1969 Nov. 4, discloses using a predetermined amount of water with a predetermined amount of chemicals. This arrangement does not use pressure to carbonate the solution. The predetermination of the amount of solution by a fill mark relates to the quantity of solution relative to the quantity of reactants, not to a predetermined spatial area. A disadvantage of this arrangement is that it requires that the reaction be timed. If not properly timed the container may rupture. The requirement that the reaction be timed is certainly inconvenient.
This implies the need for a system for carbonating a beverage in the home that is inexpensive, convenient and simply designed.